The visuals of people desperate to leave Afghanistan reminds actor Warina Hussain of her traumatic past, and revives memories of her family leaving the country in the middle of a turmoil.

“It’s eerily similar to 20 years ago. It was because of this war and turmoil that my family was forced to flee Afghanistan, now I see others losing their homes,” she says of the crisis after the Taliban took charge.

The actor left Afghanistan as a child, and has been in India for over a decade. But memories of what was once her homeland are still alive. “My memories will always be of family picnics, food, and a beautiful spring in Kabul, which I doubt will ever be the same again; the only air one will now breathe will be of suppression,” she says in dismay.

As a refugee, she can understand how difficult it is. “I was fortunate that India accepted me and became my home but I’m afraid that isn’t the case for everyone. Such a country’s conditions result in thousands of refugees and asylum seekers arriving in neighbouring countries, where immediate accommodation may be difficult,” says the actor, who made her Bollywood debut with Loveyatri in 2018.

Hussain appeals for other countries not to abandon Afghanistan. “And for the United Nations to intervene. It’s the wish and plea of a woman who doesn’t want her fellow Afghan women to be treated as second-class citizens,” she ends.